After trying to help the Wildcats get better over the first month of last summer, Arizona assistant coach Riccardo Fois then had to pay the price for doing so.
That is, he had to watch up close on Sept. 2 while UA guard Kerr Kriisa poured in 20 points on 8-for-11 shooting for Estonia in a FIBA EuroBasket game against Italy … for whom Fois was serving as an assistant coach.
“You knew he was going to try to (mess) me up,” Fois said, laughing at the memory. “C’mon, you guys know Kerr: Every time he scored, he looked over at me.”
Fois wouldn’t have it any other way. Italy wound up winning the game 83-62, but Arizona’s gregarious Italian-bred assistant coach said the fun part about basketball is the friendly rivalries within.
During a summer in which he worked with his native country’s basketball federation as an assistant coach for World Cup qualifying games and EuroBasket games, plus a stint with Italy’s U23 gang during a Canadian tournament, Fois spoke about facing Kriisa, working with former UA guard Nico Mannion of Italy and the rest of his experience:
Fois said he did individual work with the Wildcats throughout June and talked with Kriisa often about Italy’s Sept. 2 game with Italy. Finally, toward the end of the summer, it finally happened.
“It was awesome,” Fois said. “It was so cool to be there. We saw each other the days before the game and after the game, and he actually became a really good friend of our head coach for Italy (Gianmarco Pozzecco), who a point guard. He was very similar (to) how Kerr plays, so they bonded. Everybody loved Kerr and the way he played. He played a great EuroBasket. He gave a chance for Estonia to make it to the second round.”
Estonia just missed advancing, however, after losing 74-73 to Ukraine and 73-70 to Croatia in games when Kriisa struggled from 3-point range. Kriisa shot 58.8% from 3 (10 of 17) in his other three games combined but was just 2 for 7 against Ukraine and 0 for 7 against Croatia.
“Yeah, maybe (he struggled then), but he plays so good and so hard. Basically, it was him and another guy who were carrying the load of scoring and playmaking and they were playing against NBA players. For Kerr just to bring the team there at his age? There are not many players who can do that in a European competition at that level. It was an unbelievable performance.”
Kriisa also let the basketball world he didn’t lack confidence earlier in the summer, jabbering at NBA all-Star Luka Doncic during Estonia’s 104-83 loss to Slovenia in a FIBA 2023 World Cup qualifier. Estonia actually held a 23-18 lead at the end of the first quarter before losing. UA wing Pelle Larsson also defended Doncic heavily while playing for Sweden in another World Cup qualifier.
Kriisa “was also in that game, too,” Fois said. “That’s what people don’t realize. It’s so great for each of our guys to go and play those games. Pelle and Kerr get to play a real competitive game against Luka. That’s how you get better. I think all our guys that went back this summer, even Adama (Bal of France) with the U20s. They all made a jump because of the competition you get. And hopefully you’ll see that during the season. I mean, I’ll say this: If you play EuroBasket against top NBA players, you’re probably going to be ready to play any player in college.”
Italy’s Pozzecco is a famously demonstrative coach, celebrating wildly after an upset over Serbia, while even jumping into the arms of Giannis Antetokounmpo and kissing the NBA all-star in an arena hallway while preparing for Greece’s game afterward. But Fois said he was also really good to work for.
“National team life is a little different. You have a lot of games, very restricted days, and you don’t have this huge staff that you have in college. So you kind of divide up the work and the beautiful thing is that (Pozzecco) gave us complete freedom, and he’s a great motivator. I learned a lot, just the belief he had in his players and how he was able to motivate them and love them. It’s kind of similar to many things that we do things here. To see it work at a different level is like confirmation that you’re on the right track.”
Assistant coach Riccardo Fois leads one of the squads during the University of Arizona's Red-Blue Game at McKale Center, Tucson, Ariz., October 2, 2021.
One of the players Pozzecco and Fois worked with was Mannion, who committed to UA out of Phoenix Pinnacle High School and played for the Wildcats in 2019-20 but was born in Italy, where his mother was once a professional volleyball player and his father played professionally. Nico and his father have both had stints with the Golden State Warriors.
“Nico is such a sweetheart. He’s the best. He always had that great gift — his speed and change of pace is elite, and he’s a very quick athlete. I think he’s getting stronger and bigger and his shooting is getting better, his finishes are getting better. I think people forget sometimes because he left (college) early and then you play one year in the NBA and then you leave, it seems like you’ve been out for 16 years. He’s still only 21. People get better.”
Mannion is now playing for Virtus Bologna, where Fois said he has a standout role.
“It’s a really good team. They have money, this is the first year they are back in (the top-tier) EuroLeague, and I think Nico is a big part of their future. Little by little, he’s getting more trust and unleashed from his head coach. I have no doubt they love him and they see him as a potential superstar. He’s already a star in the Italian league. It’s just a matter of time before he’s a star in Europe.”
Fois said he thought Mannion would return to the NBA someday, with speed that translates well even at that level. If he does, and maybe winds up facing Fois somewhere in the NBA or otherwise, Fois will be awaiting that matchup, too.
“It’s like when you go and play at the park against your best friend. They’re your best friends. You love them. But you want to kick their ass. I didn’t expect anything different than (Kriisa) trying to to kick my ass. I’ve coached multiple times against (Domantas) Sabonis (whom Fois coached at Gonzaga) in the NBA, and every time he will go, like, 30 and 20 against me.
“Every time I think, ‘Yeah, I think you love me. You wanna show me who you are.’ I hope I play against all of our guys at Arizona into the future somewhere and they all kick my ass, scoring 30 because they’re really good players.”
